Meet the Teacher!

I noticed on a few of the other teacher blogs that I read, there is a linky party going on and I'm always up for a party. This is perfect for me since I'm new to the teaching blog world (I've had my family blog going for a few years now) so most of you probably don't know me. Please feel free to join in and visit the First Grade Parade!

This is me, Rachel. I'm a wife, teacher, mother, and dancer (just a few of my titles in no special order). I'm also a non-cook. I've tried and failed many, many times. Luckily I'm married to a wonderful man who loves to cook and he's great at it! He's also a English and Spanish teacher at a nearby high school, so today we're both enjoying a day off due to extremely cold weather (-18!). Oh, I've this is my fifth year teaching first grade and I definitely think first graders are the cutest kids!

We've been married for 7 years and have this little man. Isn't he adorable? His laugh melts my heart.

I graduated from BYU-Idaho, but I'm originally from Ohio so by nature I'm a Buckeye's fan! I LOVE going home to visit my parents, my four siblings, three nieces, and four nephews. Our family's so big and fun that it's always a party. That's only MY side of the family. My husband is from California, right by the coast, and his hometown is basically my dream town. So picturesque and beautiful. My little guy was grand-baby #4 born in one year, so it's just as crazy and fun when we visit there.

Okay here's some Q & A:

Q: What would you be doing if you weren’t a teacher?
A: I'd stay at home all day with Little Boy

Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Right now I'm loving Zumba. I also love to read, dance, and spend time with my family.

Q: When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A: I've wanted to be a teacher ever since I was seven. I'd teach my dolls whenever my mom would mop and floor (because she'd line up all the chairs in the family room). I also really wanted to be one of those dancers in the Disneyland parade. I'm still a little sad that never happened.

Q: What are your guilty pleasures?
A: Anything that combines mint and chocolate, Teen Mom, People magazine, Coke, napping, people watching, and shopping at stores that I have no business shopping at like F21.

Q: What is your biggest fear?!
A: Heights. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me dizzy. I seriously have dreams that I'm stuck on top of some kind of structure and can't get down all the time!

Q: When you’re on vacation, where do you like to go?
A: Usually our vacation time is spent either in Ohio or California visiting family, but we'd love to travel to Europe and visit Paris or Italy (some place romantic and full of history). I also have spent my best vacations in New York City.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
A: "Smoke 'em if you got 'em. What am I the police?" From a SNL skit Okay so that's not really any kind of advice that I've got, but I do try to just live life the best I can and try not to judge how other's live theres.

Q: What do you value most in others?
A: Honesty and being true to yourself. Usually those two things make for a great friend.

Q: If you could choose one of your personality traits to pass down to your kids, what would it be?
A: I'm a hard worker so I'd want my kids to have that trait. I'm often told I'm a sweet person so I think that combined with their Daddy's dry sense of humor would be a good balance.

Q: If you could have lunch with anyone in the world….living or dead…who would it be?
A: I'd actually just love to have lunch with my parents and sister in Ohio since that hardly ever gets to happen.

Now tell us one random thing about yourself:

Okay this is totally random, but when I was in high school I lived across the street from Bizzy Bone of the rap group Bone Thugs n Harmony. That was pretty crazy and I have lots of stories about him. That's for another time though. Be sure to visit First Grade Parade to link up!